≿━━━━༺❀༻━━━━≾

TWENTY | GIRL FROM BOND

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

THE RIPPED HALF of Cassandra's Invisibility Cloak laid scattered on the cold, metal floor. Gingerly, she picked it up, feeling the texture of the fabric between her fingers. It was the very first relic that chose her. Actually, she was the only master who was able to wield it because the Cloak was very selective on who it would serve.

The woman pondered heavily about the moments that led her here. She recalled the Ancient One mentioning how she was meant to be a balance between light and darkness, but sometimes she craved more of the shadow that was residing inside of her. It was easy to lose herself in it. Her eyes flickered over to Stephen who was standing in front of the starship's screens, eyebrows crossed together. She couldn't help thinking about the outcome of their decision to fight Thanos.

There is no victory without sacrifice.

Would the two of them come out of the battle alive and breathing?

Nevertheless, she was going to make sure that he was going to be alive. If I have to die just so you'll live, then so be it. She thought to herself.

She wanted to be mad at him earlier for telling Tony that he'd let her die just to keep the Stone safe from Thanos, but she couldn't. This was exactly the reason why she was hesitant to start a relationship with Stephen before. It would only distract the two of them from their responsibilities.

Love is the death of duty. Love will do nothing, but end up overriding one's duty.

Stephen inclined his head to glance at her and their eyes met. It was all there. The fear, the pain, the love, and when he gave her a small reassuring smile -- one that was barely noticeable, she then realized she was willing to give up her life not because of her duty, but because of her love for him.

The sorceress returned his affection by smiling back and she pursed her lips, turning her attention back to her ripped Cloak. Rolling her shoulders, she gripped the garment in her hands and inserted it inside her pocket. She felt naked without it attached on her shoulders. She was certainly going to miss having it on her. "Goodbye, Cloak."

Her eyes moved to Peter Parker. He was so young. He looked no older than eighteen. Was he aware how grave their decision was? He might never come back alive. Her thoughts wandered to Moon-Young and Jae-Hyuk. How were they doing right now? She knew she had nothing to worry about since Wong and her mother were watching over them. The woman was certain in adopting the twins, it just felt right for her to do so. She thought about the English names she'll give them once she files for their adoption.

Cassandra always admired Greek Mythology and the names Megara and Theseus popped into her mind. Megara was the first wife of Hercules and she was one of the sorceress' favorite characters in the 1997 animated film, Hercules. She thought it fitted the girl very well. She heard once from Moon-Young how she desired to be the agent of her own fate. Then, Theseus, since he was the great hero of Athens who battled many enemies, she believed that Jae-Hyuk would also do the same and exceed. His optimism that he would succeed in anything made Cassandra know she chose the right English name for him.

With this in mind, she glanced once to Peter, opting to start a conversation with him. "Peter, right?" She asked, her hands clasped behind her back.

Peter jumped in surprise and he spun around quickly to meet her. "Miss Mason! Uh, what-what brings you here?"

The teenager reminded Cassandra so much of Jae-Hyuk, only he was a bit more... dramatic. The boy she left in Kamar-Taj would've mentioned something about how he almost died from the heart attack and that it wouldn't look good on his gravestone.

"I just wanted to talk." She shrugged. "I'm not going to lie. I was starting to have an existential crisis back there so... to avoid digging myself deeper into that, I'm going to talk to you. If that's okay with you, of course."

"Yeah, sure, sure. Yeah, no problem. That's alright with me, Miss Mason."

Cassandra chuckled. "Please, call me Cassandra or Cass. Miss Mason's too formal and we will be battling an alien later on." She looked ahead of them like how any visionary would. "We should be establishing trust and rapport by now, you know. We don't know if my life will be in your hands later..."

Peter blinked. "Yeah, uh, that's reasonable. We should really get to know each other. So, how long have you been a..."

"A what? A sorceress?"

"Yeah."

"For as long as I can remember." She breathed. Even when she was still a young child, Cassandra was often told about the mystical energies that resided in her. She was even described by the previous masters as having an ale tankard's worth of magical potential that she may have the ability to manipulate and tame even the extremely powerful and rare form of magic, Chaos magic, one day. They even surmised that a universe without a Cassandra Mason, a Guardian, is a timeline heading for destruction. The sorceress swallowed, "You got anyone back home, kid?"

"Yeah. Uh, my Aunt May."

"Does she know you're here?"

"No."

"Peter, you do know that this might be a one way ticket, right? Are you not scared?"

"Oh, I'm -- I'm nervous..."

"Then, why are you doing this?" She crossed her arms. "I mean, what is your motivation? I'm sure, you know that being a hero is and will never be easy. We constantly have to put others before ourselves, make difficult choices, and be willing to undertake a sacrifice. Even villains give up a lot for their goal."

Peter swallowed, thinking of what to say. "If I don't do something about these bad things that are happening, I feel like I'm responsible for them, Miss Mason -- I mean, Cassandra. It's like this I have the ability to stop them, but then I don't? Then, that'll be on me because I... I didn't stop them. Do you get my point?"

"So, you understand the price of not doing the right thing? Is that what you mean?"

"Yeah."

She patted Peter's shoulder, finally realizing what he wanted to convey. "I admire your courage, kid, but I have to tell you this. What you just said to me, it can't be realistically applied to every situation. The world is just too intricate to be reduced to such simplistic, black-and-white sentiment, whether you like it or not. I want you to remember this, Peter." Cassandra stared at him like how a wise mentor saw potential in their student. "Taking action isn't always the best option, and taking no action isn't always harmful. The best thing to do is make decisions on how to act based not only on facts, but also on your own limitations."

Peter breathed out, "You are so wise."

Cassandra chuckled. "I hope you won't be too hard on yourself if you can't always be there for everyone, Peter. You shouldn't blame yourself if people end up in risky situations for which you aren't responsible. Keep in mind that you can only do so much to assist those around you, okay?"

"Yeah, yeah. Wow, thank you. Thank you. I'll... I'll remember that."

Suddenly, their spacecraft jolted so violently that Cassandra almost lost her balance. The woman could hear rumbles and particles hit and rub against the hull of their starship. Their speed slowed down and it was as if they were something that was fighting their entry. The woman then concluded that they had probably reached their destination for why else would their spacecraft rattle that hard, right?

Peter ambled over to the control panel. "Hey, what's going on?"

Stephen then replied, "I think we're here."

Cassandra, hearing this, initiated to go beside Stephen. "You alright?" Stephen checked up on her to which she responded with, "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."

The blue holographic screens in their front presented them the terrain of the planet they were entering. From the looks of it, Cassandra could surmise the planet was a barren wasteland. Broken remains of advanced machineries and debris littered its surface.

"I don't think this rig has a self-park function." announced Tony, then instructed Peter to put his arm in the machine for piloting. Even without proper and complete knowledge about the spacecraft, Tony was able to figure out how to maneuver their hovering vehicle. That was his strength. His genius-level intellect. No wonder he was so proud of it. "Get your hand into this steering gimbal. Close those around it. You understand?"

"Yep, got it."

Flashes of lightning struck their starship for a moment and the brunette wobbled on her feet. The world's upper atmosphere was ravaged by electrical storms. What happened to the planet? Cassandra pondered.

"This was meant for one big guy, so we gotta move at the same time."

"Okay. Okay. Ready." proclaimed Peter, bracing himself for the impact. "We might, uh, wanna turn."

Cassandra watched as their screen presented the blockade in front of them and Peter, with wide eyes, yelled, "Turn! Turn! Turn!"

Their starship collided with the blockade, causing them to stumble from their position. Gravity was pulling them into the surface of the planet fast and it looked like there was no way of slowing down their starship or even stopping it. With this, Cassandra decided to shield them all. She turned to the Sorcerer Supreme, her eyes flashing golden.

"Stephen -- "

Stephen narrowed his eyes and faced her fully. Cassandra could almost feel the gears inside his head turning as he raised his right hand. "The prismatic wall. Yeah, got it."

"Great minds think alike." commented the woman. Not wasting another second, she brought their hands together, moving them in a circular motion. Just like how they practiced it, their hands glowed white and sparks circled their wrists. Gathering the arcane magic dwelling inside of her, she let a portion of it go, building herself as the catalyst of the spell. It manifests into a scintillating, kaleidoscopic plane of light that will prevent them from being killed in the landing. The wall flashed with seven different colors and covered the entirety of their control center.

Finally, their starship crashed on the ground, rattling them all in their positions, but the couple kept themselves steady. It slid across the terrain for a full minute before halting and splitting into two. The summoned prismatic wall held up for as long as needed and Cassandra lent all the magic she could give before collapsing to the ground with Stephen. Gasping, she clenched her fists and felt the after effects of her excessive lending of her magic.

Tony and Stephen rose to their feet and both of them helped her get up. "You alright, Morgana?" asked the genius, genuinely concerned. "That was close. I owe you two one."

Cassandra nodded, then searched for Peter. "Where's the kid?"

Peter Parker descended from the ceiling in spider-like fashion, outstretching his hand. "Let me just say, if aliens wind up implanting eggs in my chest or something." he rambled, nervous. "And I end up eating you, I'm sorry."

Tony, while raising his index finger, scolded the young hero. "I don't wanna hear another single pop culture out of you for the rest of the trip. You understand?"

The boy swallowed. "I'm trying to say that something is coming."

A moment of stillness, and almost-eerie silence that filled Cassandra with dread came next. That's when a strange, round metal ball rolled into their center.

And it exploded.

A blinding flash shoots their shadows away from the control center as they're slammed by some inexplicable force. Cassandra groaned in pain, her lungs pumping like bellows in a foundry. The overwhelming blast of sound and light engulfed her, overloading their senses for a moment.

"Thanos!"

The sorceress immediately caught sight of daggers being launched at Stephen and she immediately jumped to her feet. Just as the Sorcerer Supreme blocked the attack with a Mandala, the huge gray skinned man with crimson intricate details embedded on the surface of his skin roared in anger and charged at them. Stephen, without hesitation, sent the Cloak of Levitation flying at his face and whipped him around.

Almost as if on cue, a beaming blue light slashed on their right and Cassandra and Stephen moved away from each other to avoid the attack. The brunette's beige uniform transformed into purple and she quickly drew out her dagger, ready to slice whoever was coming. A girl with blonde hair and a fringe stepped into their view. A silver metallic armor covered the entirety of her arm and the sword she was holding lit up with a blue flame-like energy.

Without any warning, the girl cut at Cassandra. Transforming her dagger into a long sword, the woman parried, but her enemy simply mutated the cut into a thrust. She cut and thrust at Cassandra relentlessly, driving her around, but the woman regained her balance. The sorceress' tip finally slipped past the girl's guard, and she jerked her head back, barely turning a head-cleaving hew into a gash across her face.

Cassandra was quick and uppercut slashed at her opponent, attempting to catch her from stem all the way to stem. But, the girl was a match too. She was able to deflect all of the sorceress' offenses until Cassandra put a simple sidekick into the swords woman's stomach, doubling her over.

"Die, blanket of death!" cried the man, struggling with the Cloak of Levitation. Everything else almost went out like a blur, but all Cassandra could register was that the guy who led the attack had Peter Parker in a head-lock, while Iron Man stood over the grey skinned guy with a repulsor aimed at his head, and Doctor Strange stood ready near a woman with antennas and pure black eyes.

Then, just as Cassandra was about to deliver an uppercut, the blonde haired girl swiped her leg across the floor, causing the brunette to lose her balance.

Yet, just as she did this, the young girl swiped her leg across the floor, causing her to lose her balance and fall. Gripping her dagger, Cassandra pulled herself together. She watched as she and her rival rolled across the ground and did a kick-up, their sharp weapons each at the bases of their throats.

"Move and I will slit your throat." threatened Cassandra, her eyes blazing with fury.

"Same here."

She narrowed her eyes. "Nice weapon you got there. Name's Cassandra."

"Vesper. My name's Vesper, and thanks."

"Vesper?" The sorceress blinked, remembering the name from the Bond novels and films. "As in Vesper Lynd? From James Bond?"

Vesper smirked. "Mom's a big fan."

The guy who took Peter hostage pointed his gun at them all, yelling, "Everybody stay where you are. Chill the F out." He then pressed a button on his helmet and it retracted back to reveal his human visage. "I'm gonna ask you this one time. Where's Gamora?"

Tony retracted his helmet as well, retorting, "Yeah, I'll do you one better. Who's Gamora?"

"I'll do you one better!" exclaimed the man "Why is Gamora?"

Vesper rolled her eyes and with, "Why don't you three dumbasses just complete the basic information-gathering and ask when and how is Gamora?"

Cassandra feeling frustrated and fatigued already exasperated, "Who even in the flying fuck is Gamora?"

and there she is, vesper lynn's first appearance! guys, tell me what you think! i would so love to hear your thoughts, i swear it makes my day and keeps me motivated! Thank you!